Roland Juno-106

The Juno-106 is a very common and widely used analog polysynth. It
continues to be one of the most popular analog synths due to its great
sound and easy programmability. It was the next major incarnation of the
Juno-series, following the Juno-60. While it
has virtually the same synth engine as the Juno-60, the 106 added
extensive MIDI control making it one of Roland's first MIDI-equipped
synthesizers. There was also increased patch memory storage, up to 128
patches instead of the 56 patches available in the Juno-60. However, the
Juno-60 is often said to have a slight sonic edge over the more advanced
106. The 60 had the ability to modulate oscillator pulse from its
envelope and has a "punchier" sound quality.

The Juno-106 is a six-voice polyphonic and programable analog synth with
one digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) per voice. While classic
monophonic synths used two or three oscillators to create a fatter
sound, the Juno-106 uses built-in Chorus to fatten up its sound to dramatic effect. The
nature of its DCO meant it was stable and always in perfect tune but
still warm and analog. There is an excellent 24dB/oct analog lowpass
filter with plenty of resonance and self-oscillating possibilities and a
non-resonant highpass filter. The programable pitch/mod bender can be
assigned to control the DCO pitch, VCF cutoff, and LFO amount all at
once or individually.

The Juno-106 was the first MIDI equipped Juno and its implementation is
quite good. There are 16 MIDI channels available and MIDI SysEx data can
be transmitted/received from all the sliders and buttons for total
remote control and sequencing capability. A switch on the back of the keyboard, next to the MIDI
ports allows the user to switch between three types of MIDI modes:
Keyboard and Hold data only; Keyboard, Hold, Bender, Patch selection data;
or All data (including SysEx). Most users simply set it to MIDI Function mode 3 and forget it.

This synth is incredibly straightforward and very powerful. It's
SH-series derived panel layout is easy to understand and very hands-on.
Use it to generate lush pads, filter sweeps, and funky bass lines and
leads. The Juno-106 is an awesome learning tool for anyone new to analog
synthesis, as well as an electronic musician's dream for its warm
analog sounds coupled with modern features like MIDI and memory - all at
a very reasonable price. And still the Juno-106 has an even cheaper alter-ego in the form
of the HS-60 - a hobbyist version with built-in
speakers.

The link above will take you to an eBay search for this synth to see active listings with more images, specs and information. If you don't find it there, try looking in our forum marketplace. Our marketplace gets thousands of visits every week so make sure to check back often if you want to buy or sell a synth.

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